"At the School of Sorcerers - Department of Reception"
The new students stood in lines, a formal welcome for their first day at the school.
Yui Hina stood among them, his eyes fixed on the board,his mind somewhere far away. The teacher spoke calmly, confidently:
"The recent attacks are further confirmation. The Drakhaens do not change. They are the enemy… and always have been."
Yui did not move. He did not object.But something tightened in his chest. Because he knew it was a lie.
Still, he remained silent. Because silence, here, was safer than the truth.
The lesson ended. Students began to leave the room. Itsuki Kuroda approached him, hesitant.
"Yui… are you okay?"
Yui slowed his steps. Then spoke, barely above a whisper:
"The attack… it wasn't them."
Itsuki froze.
"What? But..."
Yui turned sharply, grabbing his wrist, pulling him closer.
"Be quiet."
The word came out sharp, tight with fear.Yui's eyes darted around.The walls were close. Symbols were carved into the floor. Here… even the walls could hear.
He spoke again, colder now:
"If you say this out loud… th..."
Itsuki swallowed.
"But if that's true… then the school..!!!!"
"Don't say it." Yui clenched his fist. He spoke slowly :
"That reason is the one that....!"
Silence.
The bell rang. Students returned to their seats. Yui walked with them. And in that moment,
he understood one thing clearly:
The school was not deceiving them by mistake. It was doing so on purpose.
The truth was not erased. It was not forbidden. It was simply… postponed.
In the reception class, students were taught just enough to obey. Basic spells.
Simplified history. A clearly defined enemy, easy to hate. Everything was arranged so no one would ever ask the wrong question.
But after that,
After they passed the first exam, after proving they could endure pressure,another door would open.
Department of Deformation
Its name was rarely spoken. It never appeared on public schedules.Students who reached it
were not congratulated. Not farewelled.
They simply… vanished from the beginner classes.There, hatred was not taught. Stories were not fed to them.
There, the truth was shown in full bare, unsoftened.
Not everyone endured it. Some broke. Some screamed. And some… understood. And in that exact moment, the student was given a choice. Not on paper. Not in words.
But through action. Either to continue the path… or to refuse.
Those who refused were reshaped. As for those who accepted, They were not asked for loyalty. They were asked for something simpler. Something far uglier. To become fuel.
Fuel for a system that does not want its soldiers to know why they burn, only how to burn properly when ordered to.
Yui Hina returned home after classes. Nothing had changed. A worn wooden door. Cracked walls.
He removed his shoes quietly.
From the inner room came a cough. A sound he knew too well. Broken. Exhausting. As if lungs were clinging to the last scraps of air.
He entered.
His mother lay there, pale, eyes half-open. When she saw him, she smiled. A small smile one that took more effort than it should.
"You came home early today."
He nodded. Said nothing. On the wooden table sat a nearly empty medicine pouch, and beside it, a cold glass of water. He stared at it for a long time.
The money from the School of Sorcerers barely covered anything. But… it was all they had. He sat beside her. Held her hand. Cold.
"Don't tire yourself," she whispered.
"I'm fine."
He knew she was lying. Just as he knew he would lie too. He swallowed the words burning in his throat.
And suddenly, He thought of his brother. Not his death. But the silence that followed.They said he
"failed to complete the training."
They said he was
"unsuitable."
And then, nothing.
No body. No explanation. No questions allowed.
Yui clenched his fist slowly. If he spoke; he would lose everything. Even if he told the truth, no one would believe him.
The school would close its doors. The money would stop. The medicine would stop.And his mother would be the first to pay the price.
He lowered his head. And told himself, in a voice no one could hear:
Not because I'm afraid…but because I have no choice.
He stood. Left the room. In the darkness, he paused. Then finally, Not aloud. Not in words.
I will continue. I will remain silent.And I will let them teach me how to burn…until the time comes.
That night, Yui Hina slept with two truths in his chest: That the school lies. And that poverty
is far crueler than lies.
_
In the Drakhaens Kingdom
The stone did not tremble. It remained stable with an unsettling stillness. In the Red Room,
a faint light flickered, then faded.
A notification appeared. Not an alarm. Not a warning.A status update.
< Vital activity: Active
Consciousness: Restored >>
Skyler gasped without realizing it. He moved before thinking. Pushed the door open.
Kai was sitting upright. Back straight. Eyes open.Breathing calm, too calm.No blood. No pain. That was what terrified him.
Skyler rushed forward, dropping to his knees.
"Kai…"
No response.
He reached out, gripped his shoulder. Warm.
"I thought....!" His voice broke.
He swallowed.Then finally said it:
"I thought I had lost you."
Kai slowly lifted his gaze. Looked at him. The eyes were empty, yet aware.
—"You didn't."
The voice wasn't weak. Nor strong. Just… cold.
Skyler clenched his fist.
"You were dying. The stone changed. The system went silent. Everyone...."
—"I'm here."
Silence fell.
Skyler studied his eyes carefully. Then he noticed it. Something subtle. Delicate. Not in the gaze. Not in the voice. But in what was missing. As if something that should have been there… was gone.
"Do you feel anything?" Skyler asked carefully.
—"No."
For the first time, that word was terrifying. Skyler lowered his hand.Didn't ask more.He stood:
"If you need anything… I'm here."
Kai nodded. Once. When Skyler left, he didn't look back. Kai remained seated.He looked down at his hand. Opened it. Closed it. No pain. No trembling.
Only one sensation remained heavy, stable: That something inside him had settled.
-
And while the stone stabilized in the Drakhaens Kingdom, the distance was closing elsewhere.
There was no time to breathe. The screams hadn't stopped. The blood spilled moments ago had yet to find ground to dry on.
In the same place, Lilithia still stood, Her body already one step ahead of her mind.
Atsuro suddenly grabbed her arm. Not to save her but because something in the scene was about to explode again.
Across from them:
Tsukoshiro stood with unsettling calm.
"It has begun, hasn't it?"
The blood no longer flowed. The symbol had calmed. The shadows did not retreat. And the silence after the final strike was not peace, It was a lethal hesitation.
Here, the battle had not ended. It had only…
changed its rhythm.
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-To be continued...-